The production of carbon-based nanostructures may potentially serve as an important tool in the production of emerging electronics and structural materials. Recent research has focused on the production of, for example, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and other techniques. The selection of an appropriate material on which to form the nanostructures is important when designing processes for the production of carbon nanostructures. However, many commonly used materials have one or more disadvantages associated with them. Some materials may react with the substrate on which they are deposited, which can both degrade the substrate over time and reduce or eliminate nanostructure growth. Because of their reactivity, commonly used nanostructure catalysts such as Fe, Co, and Ni must often be stabilized or isolated to enable CNT growth, thereby limiting the applications in which they may be used.
Accordingly, improved compositions and methods are needed.